Thursday, November 17, 2016

Westwood clickety-clicks to lead in Dubai

EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS
Lee Westwood once again proved he is the man for the big occasion as he fired an opening 66 to take the first-round lead at the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai today.
In contrast, Rory McIlroy struggled to a 75 and a share of 55th place.
Westwood triumphed at this event in 2009 as he won his second Order of Merit and has nine top three finishes in Major Championships in the last decade.
One of those was a tie for second at this year's Masters Tournament that helped him sit 12th in the Race to Dubai Rankings presented by Rolex coming into this week. A season-closing win at Jumeirah Golf Estates could move him into the top five.
The 43 year old began his chase for a 24th European Tour title with seven birdies and a single bogey to sit at six under, a shot clear of Belgium's Nicolas Colsaerts and Frenchman Julien Quesne

Quesne turned in 35 and, as he stood on the 14th tee, he was very much part of the pack before a stunning burst of scoring with birdies on the 14th, 15th, 17th and 18th.
There was no such drama for Colsaerts with birdies on the sixth, seventh, tenth and 15th putting him in contention before a stunning approach to the par five last saw him hit the summit ahead of Westwood's charge.
Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Matthew Fitzpatrick, Marcus Fraser, Alexander Levy, Louis Oosthuizen and Jaco Van Zyl were in a share for seventh at three under.

FIRST-ROUND LEADERBOARD
par 72
66 Lee Westwood (England)
67 Nicolas Colsaerts (Belgium), Julien Quesne (France)
68 Sergio Garcia (Spain), Joost Luiten (Netherlands), Francesco Molinari (Italy)
69 Louis Oosthuizen (South Africa), Matthew Fitzpatrick (England), Marcus Fraser (Australia), Alexander Levy (France), Jaco Van Zyl (South Africa), Kiradech Aphibarnrat (Thailand)

SELECTED SCORES
71 Alex Noren (Sweden) (T24)
72 Henrik Stenson (Sweden), Padraig Harrington (Ireland) (T33)
75 Rory McIlroy (Ireland) (T55)
78 Andrew Johnston (England) (59th)
Field of 60 players

TO VIEW ALL THE SCORES

CLICK HERE


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Jane Turner six shots clear in Q School Pre-qualifier in Morocco
Jane Turner did not find the birdies so easy to come back as she did in a first-round 65 but a one-over 73 today for six-under 138 still has the Lothians player  six shots clear of the field of 64 players with two rounds to go at the Ladies European Tour's Qualifying School Pre-Qualifier at Mohammedia Golf Club, Morocco today.
English amateur Inci Mehmet is lying second on 144, one ahead of a group of four - amateurs Cloe Frankish and Bethan Popel, and professionals Lucy Goddard (England) and Julie Aime (France).
Scottish amateur Gabrielle MacDonald is in joint 37th place on 158 (78-80) while Rachael McQueen is 59th with rounds of 85 and 81.

MOROCCO LEADERBOARD
Par 144 (2x72)
138 Jane Turner (Sco) 65 73
144 Inci Mehmet (Eng) (am) 73 71
145 Cloe Frankish (Eng) (am) 74 71, Lucy Goddard (Eng) 74 71, Bethan Popel (Eng) (am) 71 74, Julie Aime (Fra) 74 71.
146 Louise Larsson (Swe) 72 74.
SELECTED SCORES
151 Chloe Williams (Wal) 81 70 (T14)
158 Gabrielle MacDonald (Sco) (am) 78 80 (T37)
166 Rachael McQueen (Sco) 85 81 (59th)
Field of 64 players

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Ross Kellett, David Law fail to make it in top 30 at Final Q School



Oh Henry! Only Scot to win playing rights on 

2017 European Tour

 By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Seven Scots started the European Tour’s six-round Final Qualifying School ... but only one, Scott Henry, 29, from Cardross, gained pass marks and promotion to the 2017 European Tour.
Henry shot rounds of 64, 75, 70, 72, 68 and 67 for a 12-under-par aggregate of 416 over the PGA Catalunya Resort’s Stadium and Tour Courses to finished tied second, one behind the winner, England’s Nathan Kimsey.
In the end a total of 30 players with 108-hole totals of 423 and better gained playing rights on the European Tour next season.
Of the four Scots who survived the cut after four rounds, Henry, Scottish Under-18 boys’ match-play champion in 2004 and 2005,  earned at least a second season on the European Tour – he lost his card at the end of the 2013 campaign.
But for Motherwell’s Ross Kellett and his Paul Lawrie Golf Centre team-mate, David Law from Aberdeen, there was only deep disappointment. Kellett finished joint 44th on two-under 426 after rounds of 72, 66, 73, 72, 71 and 72.
Law, who won his Stage 2 event in Spain and was well in the running at PGA Catalunya until the fourth round, had a nightmare last round of 78 with double bogey 6s at the first and 13th. He finished alongside Blairgowrie’s Bradley Neil on two-over-par 430 in joint 58th place.
Neil had scores of 64, 72, 71, 77, 78 and 68.
Henry clinched a return to the Big League with a great final round of five-under 67 which included an eagle 3 at the 15th and six birdies: at the second, fifth, seventh, 12th, 13th and 16th in halves of 34 and 33.
Leading the field after his eagle 3, Henry could afford the luxury of bogeying the ninth, 17th and 18th and still qualify with a good deal to spare.
He missed out at the Final Stage of the Q School in 2014 and 2015.
EUROPEAN TOUR QUALIFYING SCHOOL
FINAL STAGE
PGA Catalunya, Girona, NE Spain.

+30 Players with totals of 423 and better earned promotion to the European Tour in 2017

Par 218 (Stadium Course 4x72, Tour Course 2x70)
415 N Kimsey (Eng) 70 70 71 61 73 70
416 S Henry (Sco) 64 75 70 72 68 67, R Gonzalez (Arg) 67 73 72 71 69 64, E Molinari (Ita) 66 68 72 69 67 74
418 S Tiley (Eng) 64 71 74 71 71 67, A Karlsson (Swe) 71 69 71 68 71 68, J Fahrbring (Swe) 68 68 72 72 70 68, E Pepperell (Eng) 69 69 69 71 69 71.
419 J Parry (ng) 71 67 69 75 69 68, M Nixon (Eng) 67 73 71 68 68 72
420 R Echonique (Arg) 69 69 72 71 73 66, S Soderberg (Swe) 72 71 73 65 69 70, P Maddy (Eng) 75 67 72 67 68 71, Y E Yang (SKor) 72 70 67 69 71 71.
421 S Manley (Wal) 72 63 73 69 74 70, J Winther (Den) 68 68 68 71 75 71, A Chesters (Eng) 68 66 73 73 70 71,
422 L Canter (Eng) 69 66 73 71 70, R S Johnson (Swe) 72 67 72 71 69 71, P Widegren (Swe) 72 71 74 66 68 71, M Foster (Eng) 67 71 74 72 66 72, S Heisele (Ger) 68 66 72 73 76 67, M Orrin (Eng) 67 68 76 67 70 74
423 E Kofstad (Nor) 67 68 74 71 72 71, J Ahlers (SAf) 70 71 72 67 74 69, N Johnansson (Swe) 70 67 70 69 72 75, J Rutherford (Eng) 72 72 70 66 68 75, G King (Eng) 73 66 74 69 75 66, R McEvoy (Eng) 63 69 71 72 72 76.

SCOTS WHO FAILED
426 R Kellett 72 66 73 72 71 72 (T44).
430 D Law 66 71 68 76 71 78, B Neil 64 72 71 77 78 68 (T58)

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Link to Round 2 scores in the Ladies European Tour Q School Pre-Qualifier

Mohamedia Golf Club, Morocco

CLICK HERE

+Scot Jane Turner shot a 65 in the first round to lead by six shots.

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Link to Final Round scores at European Tour Q School in Spain

CLICK HERE

The leading 25 players and ties after today's sixth round will earn playing rights on the 2017 European Tour.

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Southgate sets early pace in Dubai

EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS
8.30am UK time Thursday 
Matthew Southgate took the early lead at the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai, but he may have been sparing a thought for those golfers halfway across the world.
As the final event of the European Tour season was getting under way in the United Arab Emirates, the final round of the Qualifying School was preparing to get started at PGA Catalunya Resort in Spain.
It was there that 12 months ago, just two months after undergoing an operation for testicular cancer, Southgate secured the sixth card to regain his playing privileges and spark emotional scenes on the 18th green.
He arrived at Jumeirah Golf Estates this week as the only 2015 Q School graduate and continued his remarkable year by getting to three under after 12 holes to share the lead with Spaniard Jorge Campillo.
The Englishman had been out in front on his own after birdies on the first, sixth, seventh and tenth but made his only bogey of the day so far on the 12th.

Campillo, meanwhile, was bogey-free through his first eight holes with gains on the second, third and eighth.
Australia's Marcus Fraser, Finn Mikko Ilonen, Italian Renato Paratore and South Africa's Jaco Van Zyl were then all in the group at two under.
Ilonen recovered from an opening double-bogey to sit just one off the lead after 14 holes, while playing partner Paratore had two birdies and was yet to drop a shot.
Fraser had birdies on the third, fifth and sixth but dropped a shot on the ninth as he turned in 34 with Van Zyl dropping a single stroke in his opening 13.
There was then a group of nine players at one under.
The four men who can still win the Race to Dubai will go out in the final groups of the day, with Rory McIlroy and Alex Noren off at 1230, and Danny Willett and Henrik Stenson teeing off ten minutes later.

TO VIEW THE LIVE SCORING SERVICE FROM DUBAI

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